Green Globes™ Continual Improvement for Existing Buildings

Assess, Quantify and Improve the Environmental Performance of Commercial Buildings The Green Globes™ Continual Improvement Tool for Existing Buildings (CIEB) is an online tool (web application) that enables commercial building owners and property managers to evaluate, document, and work toward improving the environmental performance of commercial buildings. Offering an intuitive online questionnaire and comprehensive assessment protocol, it provides a practical and effective means to rate the overall performance of existing commercial structures from an environmental and sustainability perspective. Completing a building self assessment with Green Globes™ CIEB can be the first step in a process for pursuing the prestigious Green Globes Rating/Certification. The Green Globes system utilizes a proprietary assessment protocol, web based software tools for data collection and analysis, and a rating based on building characteristics and operating procedures. Upon completion of the self assessment, property owners and managers can determine by the overall score, and category scores, how their building compares to leadership examples in environmental management and building sustainability. With customized improvement suggestions, and the capability to assess building environmental performance over time, the Green Globes system enables continuous improvement for the management of existing buildings. Because the Green Globes system is focused on reducing the environmental impacts of buildings, it features customized improvement suggestions that span the full range of relevant ecological impacts that result from building management and operations. By implementing the suggested building improvements and adopting environmentally sensitive management systems, it is projected that property owners will save energy, minimize greenhouse emissions, conserve water resources, and reduce other forms of pollution. Not just limited to the altruistic goals regarding helping the environment, Green Globes provides a structured means for property owners and managers to reduce operating costs for heat, power, lighting, and solid waste disposal, while simultaneously enhancing and improving the living or working environment for occupants.

Use Green Globes Login to New Construction and/or Continual Improvement for Existing Buildings Register for another subscription Username/Password Help Try Green Globes Sign Up for a New Construction 30-day Free Trial Sign Up for an Existing Building 30-day Free Trial Learn about New Construction Learn about Continual Improvement for Existing Buildings History of Green Globes

Comprehensive Environmental Assessment and Rating Protocol

The Green Globes™ Continual Improvement Tool for Existing Buildings delivers a comprehensive, thorough, and proven means for evaluating, improving, and rating the environmental footprint and/or sustainability of commercial buildings. The assessment protocol covers 6 different areas, with each area having an assigned number of points that are utilized to quantify overall building performance.

Assessment Category	Points	Description
Energy	350	Performance, Efficiency, Management, CO2, transportation
Indoor Environment	185	Air Quality, Lighting, Noise
Emissions& Effluents	175	Boilers, Water Effluents, Hazmat
Resources	110	Waste Reduction, Recycling
Environmental Management	100	EMS documentation, Purchasing, Environmental Awareness
Water	80	Performance, conservation, management
Total	1000

You can learn more about the history and development of the Green Globes system. The scoring for these six categories is based on approximately 150 questions that are completed via the intuitive, online questionnaire within the Green Globes Tool. While completing the survey, there are pop-up “tool tips” embedded within the questionnaire to address frequently asked questions and add clarifications regarding the input data requirements. Although more time may be required to research and gather the necessary information to complete the survey, in general each building survey takes about 2-3 hours to input all the necessary data.

Using Green Globes™ CIEB

After registration, users can securely login to Green Globes™. Navigation through the assessment is accomplished by an intuitive menu bar that enables quick access to the different parts of the tool. After login,the first step is for users to add a building and enter basic building demographic data. Separate buildings can likewise be added or separately started from this point. After this, users proceed to complete the questionnaire, clicking submit after entering each page of data. If data is erroneously entered, or research is required to answer a question, web interface users can easily return at a later time and edit, update, or complete the answers. Embedded within the questionnaire are readily accessible Tooltips that address frequently asked questions regarding using the tool or answering specific technical environmental questions. A section selector enables quick and easy updates, or returning to a section to check the data there at any time. Feedback, in terms of the progress toward completing the survey, as well as the performance score achieved thus far is available via a “one click” building dashboard display. After the questionnaire has been completed, the building report is available and can be printed. The report delivers the overall self-assessed rating score, the individual score for each of the 7 environmental categories assessed, customized improvement suggestions to facilitate environmental improvement, and web links to quickly learn more about relevant “green” products & services.

Green Globes™ Features and Benefits

The Green Globes™ Continual Improvement for Existing Building tool is simple, easy to use, and the most expedient means to completely assess the overall environmental footprint and sustainability of commercial buildings. As a web application, users can access reports, edit data, or complete the questionnaire in their own time, without concerns for data management or file storage. The entire assessment and reporting process is managed through an intuitive and easy to use navigation bar. Teams or groups of individuals can likewise separately access data or complete their assigned sections of the tool. One or multiple buildings can be readily managed via a single user account.

Green Globes Feature & Benefit Summary

Features	User Benefits
Intuitive Navigation Bar	Simplifies the overall process of building assessment & reporting.
Select/Add Building Display	Enables users to coordinate assessment of one or multiple buildings.
Project Dashboard	As the design & construction process progresses, the progress toward completing the environmental sustainability assessment is evident.
Online questionnaire	Data is stored in a secure, private, and accessible location for convenient completion, edit, or update at any point in the project life. Eliminates complicated paper forms, submission packets, data files to manage.
Section Selector	Users can easily navigate to a particular questionnaire section to complete, edit, or update information without having to browse the entire questionnaire.
Tool tips	Provide users with assistance in understanding and answering FAQ's.
Green Globes Assessment Protocol	Comprehensively assesses building sustainability and environmental features/performance on a 1000 point score in 7 different categories.
Energy Performance Comparison	Relative energy performance of the building can be benchmarked with Energy Star target finder.
Scoring Graphical Report	Delivers a graphical view of summary performance in each environmental assessment category, clarifies building strengths and weaknesses.
Self-Assessed Rating	Delivers an overall performance score for the building, allows accurate best practices comparison, enables users to predict formal Green Globes rating prior to scheduling a third party document review and/or walk-through.
Building Report	Provides a structured, detailed, and accurate summary of building environmental/sustainable features.
Tailored Improvement Suggestions	Customized improvement recommendations in each of the assessment categories are provided to provide a clear path toward improving the overall performance of new buildings.
Web Links	Speeds research for users interested in enhancing environmental performance.

The Green Globes CIEB system for environmental improvement of buildings is differentiated by its flexibility , convenience, and ease of use. By virtue of the customized, tailored improvement suggestions that are provided in each of the 6 assessment categories, it is a system focused on facilitating improvement through best practices education. Many of the undesirable aspects of a thorough building environmental assessment and rating are eliminated within the Green Globes online tools. With Green Globes, the choice of whether to certify a building or pursuing formal rating comes later in the process. As an online web application, it serves well busy property managers or maintenance staff that want to complete the assessment in stages as their time allows. Piles of completed paper forms, or the assembly of complicated submission packets/applications, and the management of multiple files containing completed input forms are likewise not part of the Green Globes system. By streamlining the process associated with a thorough environmental assessment, building owners and managers can apply their energy and budget resources to invest in building enhancements rather than costly assessment and certification activities.

A Recognized, Proven, and Better Way to Go Green

The Green Globes™ New Construction and Continual Improvement Tool for Existing Buildings deliver a comprehensive, thorough, and proven means for assessing the environmental footprint and/or sustainability of buildings. The CIEB tool is suitable for a wide range of commercial buildings from large and small offices, multi-family structures, to institutional buildings such as schools, universities and libraries. Derived from the BOMA Go Green Plus system, which has been deployed to over 200 commercial buildings in Canada, Green Globes is a proven way to assess, benchmark, and work toward improving the performance of commercial building portfolios.

The Green Globes system is a revolutionary “green” management tool that includes an online questionnaire, an assessment protocol &rating system and guide for implementing environmentally friendly building management and operating procedures within existing buildings. Once self-assessment incomplete, it also facilitates recognition through optional third-party assessment and ratings/certification. Property owners that wish to demonstrate their commitment to environmentally responsible building management may elect to have their self-assessments verified by a third party, and apply for prestigious Green Globe certification. By displaying a Green Globes award certification, property owners and managers gain public recognition for their commitment to environmentally friendly building management practices. This offers differentiation and marketing advantages with the public, investors, and tenants alike.